Unexpected Trouble

The Dark Elves’ isolation hadn’t been good for them.

They’d been sticking to the same practices for hundreds of years, while the Empire flourished.

At first, the Dark Elves had tried to ostracize the people of Ador village due to their antipathy toward humans, but they were forced to interact because they helped the villagers settle down, as Sian had ordered.

And now, they seemed to recognize each other as a race that lived together in the mountains.

“Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yes, Sian-nim.”

Sian smiled at Carley, who nodded, and Sian got up. He needed to go see Theodore and Leon soon.

Leon was still in the stage of training his basic physical strength, so there wasn’t much to see.

And Theodore would probably take good care of things. Sian left the mansion with a carefree expression.

***

“Hey, get up. You haven’t finished yet.”

“Hmph.”

Leon ignored Theodore’s words and turned his head away.

He didn’t want to listen to Theodore, though he’d listen if Sian had said it.

Leon turned his back on Theodore and tapped his tail on the floor in discontent.

Of course, Sian had clearly told Leon before entering the mansion with Carley.

To follow Theodore and do physical training. But he still didn’t want to. Leon stubbornly turned his head and looked elsewhere.

“……”

Theodore gazed at Leon. Theodore didn’t like Leon either. But it was problematic if Leon kept sitting like that. It was Sian who asked him to teach Leon.

He didn’t want Sian to be disappointed in him. Sian had entrusted him with Leon, and if he saw him sprawled out like this, he wouldn’t be praised.

“Hey, get up.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Get up!”

“I don’t want to!”

Theodore’s eyes, glaring at Leon, burned brightly. But Leon didn’t budge. Even though he was young, Leon was a beastkin.

Ordinary children might have been overwhelmed by Theodore’s aura, but Leon had only hesitated when they first met; now, he was indifferent.

Theodore’s eyes softened. He wanted to jump out and grab Leon by the hair. But he barely suppressed his impulse.

“If you do that, you’ll be disliked by Teacher.”

“……What?”

Leon’s ears perked up. The wolf ears, covered with blue fur, fluttered. Leon, who hadn’t moved a muscle, turned his head.

“You didn’t do what Teacher told you.”

“No…!”

Leon, springing up from his place, glared at Theodore, breathing heavily. And he shouted loudly.

“Sian-nim… doesn’t hate me…!”

“Really?”

“Ugh…!”

Leon could no longer argue. He vaguely felt that his actions were wrong.

But he absolutely didn’t want to listen to that guy.

Leon’s mind was quite simple, and what mattered to him right now was more important than what he would regret later. Leon’s lips were stubbornly closed.

“You’re going to keep it up, then.”

“Wh-what…”

A strange atmosphere was felt. Leon, who had a good sense of things, perked up his ears and guarded against Theodore.

He began to feel a strange sense of pressure from Theodore, who was glaring at him.

“I won’t stay still anymore.”

“Grrr…!”

Leon’s growl spread around. The sight of him snarling, baring his sharp fangs, was quite threatening despite his young age.

But Theodore didn’t bat an eye and spread his hand.

Theodore had outstanding talent in all areas, but he was most confident in magic.

Even Sian, his teacher and a dragon, was astonished, so threatening a young beastkin was nothing to him.

But Theodore wasn’t trying to harm Leon recklessly.

He tried to scare him a little and make him listen to his words, but he failed to control his mana.

Paaat.

An invisible energy surged from Theodore.

If Leon were a magician who could see mana, he would have known that his body was shining brightly.

“Ugh…!”

Leon instinctively felt something and flinched. Leon, who had not yet awakened to mana, couldn’t see everything with his eyes, but his excellent senses as a beastkin soon detected the threat that was about to come upon him. It was when Leon, lying flat on the ground, squeezed his eyes shut.

“What are you doing?”

“……!”

“……!”

As a calm but heavy voice was heard, the movements of Theodore and Leon stopped abruptly.

Especially Theodore, who was about to use magic, was surprised and withdrew his energy.

And he stiffly turned his head to look behind him.

“T, Teacher…”

“……”

Sian stared at Theodore’s pale face. Sian’s eyes, which had witnessed everything, were cold.

Sian had finished talking with Carley and had just arrived at the training hall. But this situation? Sian bit back the sigh that was about to escape.

But he couldn’t rush to get angry because he didn’t know exactly what had happened yet.

Above all, it was the children’s business.

He needed to speak severely so that this would never happen again, but he shouldn’t get angry.

Even though he had never raised a child before he transmigrated, nor had that kind of job, Sian could tell that much.

“Leon, get up.”

“Y-yes…”

First, he lifted Leon, who was frozen and lying flat on the ground like a frog.

Leon, belatedly realizing his appearance, stood up, staggering with embarrassment.

“Who wants to speak first?”

“……”

“……”

He tried to give the children a choice, but no one opened their mouths. It was natural.

It was difficult for both Theodore, who was about to use magic on Leon because he wouldn’t listen, and Leon, who had just been playing and wouldn’t listen to Sian, to speak first.

Looking at the children, who had lost their voices as if they had eaten honey, Sian felt another sigh coming.

Sian’s gaze naturally turned to Theodore.

“Theo, you speak.”

“……”

Theodore, who had been bowing his head, flinched. And he slowly raised his head. He looked like he was about to cry, knowing that he had done something wrong, and Sian almost softened.

That wouldn’t do. He had to scold him sternly for doing wrong.

Even if Leon was the first to make a mistake, using magic to intimidate someone weaker than himself was something he should never do.

“I… I lost my temper and was going to use magic on Leon.”

“Why did you lose your temper?”

“That…”

Theodore glanced sideways, then opened his mouth again.

“Because Leon wouldn’t listen to me and was just doing something else.”

“Hmm…”

“I’m sorry.”

Theodore, who had apologized readily, bowed his head. Seeing that, he roughly knew what had happened.

Free-spirited Leon would have immediately become relaxed and started playing because he wasn’t with Sian.

Theodore, who didn’t like that, would have nagged him and they would have fought.

It was as if he could see what had happened right in front of him.

“Leon, is that true?”

“Y-yes…”

Leon’s tail drooped to the ground. He couldn’t refute it because it was the truth.

“Really? I told you to train with Theodore…”

“I, I’m sor-sorry…”

Leon, with a tear-stained face, was sobbing. His awkward pronunciation was even more of a mess, probably due to being flustered.

Sian barely suppressed the laughter that was about to come out in this serious situation.

“Hmm, I see how you two fought.”

“……”

“……”

Now, all that was left was how to reconcile the two.

Sian reflected on his own attitude, which had been too easygoing this time. Children grow up by fighting, but this time, it was too much. Seeing Theodore, who had been docile, trying to use magic on Leon, he couldn’t just let it go.

“Theo, I’m really disappointed in you. Even though you were angry, you were going to use magic on Leon.”

“Yes… I’m sorry.”

“Didn’t Teacher say it repeatedly? Great power comes with great responsibility.”

“……”

It was a gentle voice as usual, but it had a heavy weight. Theodore, hearing Sian’s stern tone for the first time, continued to flinch.

Churlish behavior can be done by anyone at a young age. But Theodore was the protagonist.

Theodore, chosen by God, would become even stronger in the future, and it would be a big deal if he were raised as a crooked adult due to bad education.

In the original work, Theodore had a miserable childhood, suffering only torture in a place with no peers.

So, when he escaped from the mountains and first met the female lead, Yurina, his sense of good and evil was vague.

Furthermore, his personality was somewhat twisted due to a sense of victimization caused by violence.

But Theodore now was different. If he was taught well before he grew into such a sinister adult, he would become an ideal protagonist. From now on, Sian’s responsibility was very heavy.

“Well, now, if you did wrong, you should apologize to Leon, right?”

“……”

“……”

After scolding him for a moment, Sian spoke to Theodore in a stern tone. At that, Theodore and Leon’s eyes met.

It was an awkward moment for each other. It was because the resentment for each other was still strong.

But they couldn’t fight in front of Sian like before, so Theodore had to open his mouth first.

“I’m sorry.”

“……!”

This guy apologized? Leon’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Leon, if you don’t feel like accepting the apology, you don’t have to. You must have been very surprised.”

“No… it’s okay.”

“Really? You’re brave.”

“Umm.”

Leon didn’t seem to realize how dangerous the situation was just now, since it hadn’t resulted in an injury.

But if Theodore had used magic, he would have been badly hurt. Sian let out a long sigh.

“Hoo… And Leon, you should have listened to Theo and not messed around. That’s your fault, Leon.”

“Yes, I did something wrong…”

“Yes.”

Sian nodded, watching Leon answer with a dejected look. The two apologized to each other once again.

Looking down at the two children, who glanced at each other, Sian opened his mouth.

“Anyway, from now on, you must get along without fighting. Got it?”

“……Yes.”

“Yes…”

They were unsatisfactory answers, but there was nothing he could do. He could only watch for a while.

Seeing the children, who reluctantly shook hands at his urging, Sian pressed his throbbing forehead with his hand.